Fuel cells are known to employ a series of anodes and cathodes configured in a stack wherein exposure to an oxidizing agent and electrolyte generates electrical power. To ensure that an uninterrupted and steady flow of electrical power is generated, cathodes must be manufactured with uniform and optimum properties. Any defects in the cathode material or in sintered layers applied to the cathode material may result in defective areas of the cathode. These defects in turn cause mild to severe degradation of electrochemical performance which in turn causes reduced fuel cell performance or even fuel cell failure.
Previous cathode assurance tests consisted simply of visual inspection of the cathode or electrical resistance tests of just the cathode. Each of these test methods has inherent disadvantages. A visual test only allows for inspection of the outer surface of the cathode and does not allow for observation of the internal structure of the cathode. It will be appreciated that any structural flaws within the cathode material may greatly reduce the electrochemical performance of the fuel cell. An electrical resistance test only evaluates the cathode as a whole and does not take into consideration that individual or discrete areas of the cathode may be flawed and cause failure of the cathode and ultimately the fuel cell. Accordingly, none of the aforementioned tests reliably determine whether a cathode will meet the desired performance characteristics of the fuel cell.
It light of the foregoing it is evident there is a need in the art for a testing device that can accurately determine the electrochemical performance of a discrete area of a cathode used in a fuel cell. Moreover, there is a need in the art for a testing device that is movable to quickly analyze each of the desired discrete areas of the cathode.